


Mistletoe

by nothingwithoutyouxo



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2016-09-23
Packaged: 2018-08-16 22:50:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8120611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nothingwithoutyouxo/pseuds/nothingwithoutyouxo
Summary: Ever since their first year Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy were inseparable. Following the disastrous events of their fourth year, their two families were brought forever closer, including spending Christmas together. Now in their sixth year, Albus and Scorpius still haven’t confessed their feelings for each other. Rose Granger-Weasley and James Potter make a bet that they can get the two of them under the mistletoe during Christmas that year. It was a silly muggle tradition that if two people were under the mistletoe together then they had to kiss. Even though Rose and James weren’t too fond of tradition they evoked an elaborate plan to take advantage of this one.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! I know it's only September and Christmas isn't for a few months but I thought I'd post it early. I wrote this over the course of a few days because these two have been driving me crazy. I guess it can be considered a borderline crack fic? But I really enjoyed writing this and I hope you guys like it!

 

The Hogwarts Express was waiting patiently at Hogsmeade station as the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry prepared to depart for their winter break. Friends of all houses were sharing hugs and last words to those who weren’t heading home for Christmas, and to those who they would be parting ways with during the holidays. Albus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Granger-Weasley were standing together at the end of the platform. Their thick winter coats and scarfs helping to keep out the cold, snow filled air. It had been snowing for longer than usual and while that seemed to delight the little first and second years, the three sixth-years barely gave it a thought.

 

“You know,” Albus said as he shoved his hands deeper into his coat pockets to help keep them warm, “I don’t really know if I like Christmas.”

 

“Why’s that?” Scorpius asked. He’d been watching the bittersweet goodbyes absently. Maybe Hogwarts wasn’t always kind to him but somehow it still managed to feel like home. He guessed that might have been because he spent most of the year there. And because of the people he spent it with. 

 

“It’s time away from you,” Albus shrugged casually.

 

Rose rolled her eyes at her two best friends that were absolutely in love with each other but were somehow unable to confess it. “You see him every Christmas, Al,” she smirked.

 

“Yes, but I don’t see him between now and Christmas. And then Christmas and when we go back,” Albus defended, gazing between his two friends quickly enough that his eyes didn’t settle on either of them for too long. 

 

“I write to you almost everyday, Al. It’s not like we break off contact,” Scorpius laughed.

 

“I know,” Albus muttered, looking down at the snow below him and kicking at it.

 

“What, Al is trying to say,” Rose smirked, resting a hand on her cousin’s shoulder, “Is that he misses you when you’re not together.” She was almost regretful that Albus was looking down because the look on Scorpius’ face was absolutely priceless. 

 

“Um,” Scorpius cleared his throat awkwardly. “Miss you too, mate,” he muttered.

 

“Whether you two feel the Christmas spirit or not, I am not missing the train,” she announced, “and if we have to share a compartment then I’m blaming you two.”

 

The boys looked up at each other, a small smile passing between them before they followed Rose onto the Hogwarts Express. Somehow she’d always been the leader in the group. Maybe it was because she was the one with her shit together most frequently. They never really knew, just accepted it. 

 

The three of them found an empty compartment and claimed it immediately. Rose spread herself out on one side knowing that her two friends were happy enough to sit  _ just  _ far enough away from each other so that it was considered socially acceptable for friends on the other. She was just happy to be able to see her family again. Even though Hogwarts was home and she loved being there, she missed seeing her parents. And the other members of her extended family, of course. 

 

“What do you think we’ll be getting for Christmas this year?” she asked, looking over at the two boys across from her, “Not that it really matters but I guess there’s always a part of me that’s excited about that.”

 

“Lily’s like that as well. Maybe not so much now but when she was younger she would bug mum and dad for days about what she was getting,” Albus replied. “I don’t think it really matters to me what I get,” he shrugged.

 

“I have no idea what I’ll be getting,” Scorpius muttered, “My dad never gives any of that away.”

 

“Was it weird growing up with a small family?” Rose asked. Scorpius didn’t really talk much about his childhood and she was always so used to having her 3 billion family members over that she didn’t know what it was like to be an only child. 

 

“I wouldn’t say weird,” he shrugged, “I guess I don’t really know much else.”

 

“You know me,” Albus said. “I mean,” he shook his head as if to curse at himself for his choice of words, “You know my family. And Rose’s family.”

 

“Well you two do belong to the same family so yes,” Scorpius smirked, “It was a little jarring at first, I guess, spending Christmas with you guys instead of my family. I mean, it used to be just me and my parents and then it was just me and my dad so having a million other people around was kinda confusing.”

 

“I guess Albus and I are so used to it we didn’t even realise,” Rose replied.

 

“That would explain why you looked like a deer in the headlights the whole time though,” Albus smirked. “Is that why you were holding onto my sweater under the table?” he asked.

 

Rose rolled her eyes but was beaming at the two of them because of  _ course  _ Scorpius had been doing that. This Christmas she had to get the two of them together. She just had to. 

 

“Maybe,” Scorpius replied sheepishly, pointedly looking away from Albus and towards the hallway. He could hear the sound of the trolley lady making her rounds down the hallway and a part of him still wanted to cringe at the sound. 

 

“Anything from the trolley, dears?” she called through their door politely.

 

“No!” Albus and Scorpius called back automatically, a reflex by now. 

 

“No thank you!” Rose added. “You two could be nicer, you know,” she added.

 

“You weren’t there, Rose. She was terrifying,” a shiver went up Albus’ spine at the thought.

 

“It’s been two years, Al,” she reminded.

 

Scorpius shook his head slowly. “She’s still scary,” he said.

 

“You two are quite ridiculous,” she laughed.

 

There was a knock on their door and Rose opened it slowly. She spotted her brother, Hugo, and cousin Lily on the other side. Even though Lily was a year older, the two were very good friends and had been since forever. 

 

“Most of our friends stayed back at Hogwarts and we can’t seem to find the others. Is it ok if we sit with you three?” Hugo asked. 

 

Rose looked back at Albus and Scorpius questionly. “What do you two think?” she asked them. “Bit ridiculous to be seen with some kids don’t you think?” she teased.

 

“What’s the password?” Albus asked them, a smirk forming on his face.

 

“Um,” Hugo muttered.

 

“Oh please,” Lily rolled her eyes and pushed passed her two cousins. “The password’s firewhisky and we’re sitting with you,” she announced, dropping into the seat next to Rose. Hugo followed her in, closing the door behind him and sitting next to her.

 

“Suddenly I feel incredibly outnumbered by red-heads,” Scorpius muttered.

 

“There’s only two of us,” Hugo replied, confused. While Rose looked almost exactly as her mother had at her age, Hugo took more after his father. At least, he’d gotten his red hair and light eyes. His skin tone was lighter than Rose’s, somewhere in between his mother and father’s. He thought he might have heard someone call it mocha coloured once but maybe they just really wanted a coffee. 

 

Scorpius shrugged, non-committedly. “I’m not usually in the presence of so many Weasleys,” he said.

 

“You spend Christmas with us every year,” Lily reminded, her arms crossed over her chest. 

 

“Outside of that, obviously,” he replied.

 

“That’s only because you spend all your time with Albus,” she accused.

 

Well, she wasn’t really wrong there. Scorpius and Albus did spend a large amount of time together. And they saw each other more often than they saw Rose, since they stayed in the same dorm and were in a different house to her. 

 

“So Lily what do you think your mum is getting you for Christmas?” Rose asked to diffuse the tension that was forming in the room. And by tension she meant the awkwardness that was slowly forming between her two friends. They were incredibly aware of how much time they spent together and hopefully soon they’d realise that maybe that could mean something more to them. Since it was obvious that they wanted it to.

 

Lily started prattling on about all the presents she wanted, even the ones that she knew she wouldn’t have any chance of getting. Hugo perked up again too and happily joined the conversation. Rose only interjected occasionally, knowing that the two could talk about Christmas for the rest of the break if given the chance. She shifted to the other side, leaning against her cousin slightly. The two of them had formed quite the bond over their time spent at Hogwarts, even if it had got off to a bit of a rocky start between them. Obviously Rose would never be on the level that Scorpius was but she was grateful that she had such a good friend in Albus regardless. Somehow the present conversation turned into a heated debate about what colour tinsel looked best on Christmas trees. Lily and Hugo were debating for the colour red but Scorpius seemed to favour white so that the tree looked like it was snow-coated. Rose looked at her brother and youngest cousin, a thought suddenly occurring to her.

 

“You ok?” Albus asked, sensing her change in mood. He nudged her gently with his elbow for emphasis.

 

“I’m just thinking,” she replied.

 

“About what?” he asked, leaning towards her a little more.

 

“We’re just all growing up so fast aren’t we?” she muttered. “I mean, I’m not excited about Christmas like that anymore,” she clarified, “I’m excited sure, but not as much at they obviously are.”

 

“A bit of a sad thought, isn’t it?”

 

Rose shrugged. “I guess it’s strange,” she muttered, “but I feel so much older.”

 

“We still have a year and a half left of school,” Albus reminded, “We don’t have to worry about any of that stuff yet.”

 

Rose turned to smile at him, “This Christmas is going to be good to you, I hope.”

 

“What do you mean?” he asked, confused.

 

Rose’s eyes flicked to Scorpius and away quickly, her smile turning into a smirk.

 

“I don’t know what you mean,” Albus replied, faking stubbornness because of course they both knew what she meant. 

 

“Of course you don’t,” she rolled her eyes. “Albus thinks that green looks best on Christmas trees,” she said to the rest of them.

 

“Green! Albus that’s ridiculous just because you’re in Slytherin doesn’t mean everything has to be green!” Lily protested. “It would totally blend in with the tree anyway!”

 

***

 

The Hogwarts Express pulled up at King’s Cross Station and all the Hogwarts students started picking up their bags and preparing to go and greet their families. Albus, Rose and Scorpius made their way along the platform among the mess of people. Lily and Rose were a few steps ahead of them. They’d discovered over the years that the easiest way to spot their families was to look for Draco Malfoy’s distinct hair, since it was the easiest to spot in the crowd. 

 

Lily seemed to spot them first, she squealed in delight and bolted towards her mother and even though Ginny couldn’t seem to catch Lily in a hug anymore that didn’t stop the two of them from embracing tightly. Hugo went to stand next to his parents, letting his mother hug him but pulling away quickly because he was starting to reach that age where being seen with your parents was suddenly uncool. All three families were smiling at the sight of their children. Rose immediately went to wrap her arms around her parents and tell them how glad she was to see them. Scorpius gave his dad a hug and said something about how his grades were doing well and he was hopeful for the rest of the year before striking up a conversation about the latest book that he’d been reading. Albus hugged his mother first, letting her squeeze him tightly and ruffle his hair as he pulled away, even though he didn’t really like it when she did that.

 

“You’ve grown at least two inches since we last saw you,” Ginny smiled at him.

  
“I don’t think so,” Albus muttered, hugging his father next. “I missed you both, it’s not the same having to deal with Lily all on my own,” he joked. After James had graduated last year Albus had become the brother Lily came to for absolutely everything, and he really didn’t mind it all that much but he liked to tease his sister just a little.

 

“Hey!” Lily put her hands on her hips, looking exactly like her mother did when she was angry at them, “I am a delight.”

 

Albus laughed at her and paused when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He turned to see Scorpius’ smiling face. His eyes were just the tiniest bit sad, since he was saying goodbye to his best friend. Even if it wasn’t for that long. 

 

Albus hugged Scorpius tightly, maybe a little bit too tight but he would miss his best friend more than anything. “Remember to write to me,” he said, pulling away again.

 

“I would never forget you, Albus Potter,” Scorpius smirked, his hand lingering on Albus’ shoulder for just a second before he went to give Rose a hug as well. 

 

“Are you going to write to me as well?” Rose joked before pulling away.

 

Scorpius shrugged. “Might as well.”

 

“Might as well? Good to know how much I mean to you,” Rose said, mock anger in her voice.

 

“I’ll write to you as soon as I get home, how ‘bout that?” he asked.

 

“Good,” she beamed at him. “See you at Christmas,” she added.

 

“See you at Christmas,” he replied before saying goodbye to everyone and walking off with his father, who also said his goodbyes.

 

“Well,” Harry said, looking around at everyone and doing a quick, automatic head count to make sure all the children were accounted for. James was at work, he had to remind himself, so he didn’t have to count him. “Shall we be off?”

 

Rose threw her arm around Albus’ shoulders. Within the last year she’d grown at least a half inch taller than him, much to her pleasure. Albus thought differently though, because that meant he was now the shortest in their trio and he didn’t really know how he felt about that. “You know, Al, you never told me what you wanted for Christmas,” she said, a smirk making its way onto her face again.

 

“Why do I know where this is going?” he looked over at her, meeting her eyes for the briefest second.

 

“I bet I know the answer though,” she ignored him and leaned closer to his ear. “And he’s just making his way down the other end of the platform now,” she whispered.

 

“Rose,” Albus groaned, shaking his head, “I hate you.”

 

“You don’t have a hateful bone in your body, Albus Potter,” she replied easily, nudging his cheek teasingly.

 

“I guess you’re right about that.”

 

***

 

Albus made his way down for breakfast the next morning, the smell of food wafting up the stairs quite pleasantly. As strange as it was to not be waking up in his Slytherin dorm after so long it was just as nice to be home with his family. Lily was telling her mother about the large Christmas tree that had been placed in the Great Hall over the last week or so of school before break. His mother had an almost longing look in her eyes and Albus realised that she must have missed Hogwarts, even just a little. With the way his parent’s, and Rose’s parents as well, talked about how magical the place was he wasn’t all that surprised. 

 

“Al, tell mum about all the presents under the tree,” Lily said to him as he took his seat at the kitchen table.

 

“There were dozens of presents under the tree,” he said simply.

 

“They’re for the house elves,” Harry smiled, handing breakfast to Lily first and then Albus.

 

“How do you know that?” Lily asked, automatically intrigued. 

 

Harry looked at Ginny for a moment. “Who was it that told me again?” he asked her.

 

“I think it was Professor McGonagall,” she replied easily.

 

“Ah,” he said. “Of course it was.”

 

“Do all the little house elves get presents?” Lily continued.

 

Harry was reminded of a time that seemed so far away where Hermione was petitioning for the rights of the little creatures, even though they were quite happy to work at Hogwarts. “Every single one,” he smiled at her, taking a seat at the table himself.

 

“That makes me really happy,” she beamed.

 

Harry continued to tell his daughter about his encounters with the house elves at Hogwarts while Ginny slid two letters across the table to her son. “These came for you this morning,” she said, a slight smirk on her face.

 

“Guess they weren’t joking about writing right away,” he replied, recognizing the handwriting on both of the envelopes. One from Scorpius, and one from Rose. He opened the letter from Scorpius first. 

 

_ Al,  _

_ I guess I didn’t realise at the time I agreed to but writing to you as soon as this really means that I don’t have anything to tell you. I guess the Manor hasn’t changed much. I think my dad fixed up the lighting a little, it seems to be brighter. I guess that’s a good sign. Maybe next time I should just write to you when I have something interesting to say. Otherwise you’ll just end up with boring letters like this. _

 

  * __Scorp__



 

 

Albus laughed and felt three pairs of eyes turn to look at him. He looked up at his family and shrugged. “Scorp is an idiot,” he said simply so they would all go back to their previous conversation. Albus excused himself from the table and made his way up to his room again. He grabbed a notebook and a pen because writing with a quill wasn’t really practical outside of Hogwarts. 

 

_ Scorp, _

_ I don’t think you’ve ever written a boring letter in your life. _

 

  * __Al__



 

 

He gently folded up the note and walked to the window ledge, cooing at his owl as he did so. The owl took the letter from him and flew off without another word. It was pretty familiar with the flight to Malfoy Manor by now. Albus turned back to his desk and picked up Rose’s letter. He opened it carefully.

 

_ Al,  _

_ I was going to send this as a howler but thought that it might scare your parents. _ _   
_ _ Merlin’s beard, would you ask Scorpius out already? Don’t act like he’s not _ _   
_ __ exactly what you want for Christmas.

_ Sincerely. _

_ Rose Granger-Weasley _

 

Albus sighed and shook his head. The only thing he could really pull from that letter was that he was incredibly grateful that she hadn’t sent a howler. He wasn’t all too sure what to write back, but knew that he had to write something.

 

_ Rose Granger-Weasley. _

_ You know how I am about admitting feelings. And if you tell him I said this you’re dead, but you’re right about Christmas.  _

 

  * __Al__



 

 

***

 

As Christmas drew ever closer Ginny Potter started her annual tradition of decking out the entire Potter house with decorations. Really she could have done this before the children returned from Hogwarts but it was always more exciting when they helped her. Lily was always more than willing to lend a hand. She loved Christmas almost as much as her mother. The whole Potter family put up the tree every year, alternating between which of the children got to put the star on top. This made it fair, even though Lily was determined that every year was her year. Luckily Ginny had a good enough memory to know that it was Albus’ year. Albus took the gold star out of its box gently. The star itself had been a present from his grandparents and so had to be handled with an incredible amount of care. When he was younger he had to tippy toe to reach the top of the tree but because of a growth spurt that happened in the last few years that that wasn’t an occurrence anymore. 

 

“Is next year my year?” Lily asked as she watched Albus place the star gently on the top of the tree.

 

“No, next year is James’ year,” Ginny replied calmly.

 

“When is it my year?”

 

“The year after that,” Harry smiled. “Tree looks good this year,” he added.

 

“Tree looks good every year,” Ginny smiled at him.

 

“Must be because it’s made with love,” he returned her smile. 

 

“Why do you two have to be all mushy?” Lily groaned.

 

James moved over next to his brother, leaning down to whisper something in his ear. “Maybe the tree won’t be the only thing you’ll be on top of this Christmas,” he said.

 

“James!” Albus protested, his cheeks flushing automatically. 

 

“Wait you still haven’t asked Scorpius out?” he asked. “Albus you’re in your sixth year.”

 

“I know how old I am, thank you.”

 

“Mum, Albus still hasn’t asked Scorpius Malfoy out,” James looked at his parents.

 

“James!”

 

“That’s because Albus is a coward,” Lily smirked at her two brothers.

 

“It isn’t like that,” Albus muttered, looking at the ground instead of at his family.

 

“It’s been like that since first year, you git,” James laughed.

 

“Mum, aren’t you going to stop him from mocking me?” Albus looked up at his parents. Only to see them both trying to hide the fact that they were laughing. “So much for parental support,” he said under his breath.

 

“Alright, alright,” Harry spoke up, “Leave your brother alone.”

 

“Thank you,” Albus said, before retreating from the room. It wasn’t that he didn’t  _ want  _ to ask Scorpius out. Maybe he did want to. He just didn’t know how, or if that was something Scorpius was interested in. He’d rather keep his relationship with his best friend the way it was now instead of losing him entirely. That was something he wouldn’t be able to deal with. Albus flopped moodily down on his bed, suddenly wishing that Rose was there so he could talk to her about it. She always knew what to say, even if it consisted of rolling her eyes at him every few sentences. He know that he was a little exasperating, at least in these circumstances. There was a knock on Albus’ door and he sat up and gazed at it. “Yeah?” he muttered. 

 

He was expecting it to be James on the other side, or even Lily coming to apologise so he was a little shocked when his father opened the door. Harry closed it behind him before going to sit next to his son. 

 

“Hi dad,” Albus said lamely.

 

“Hi Albus,” Harry replied.

 

The two of them paused, unsure what to really say.

 

“I guess we need to talk,” Harry said finally. 

 

“About what?” Albus asked. “If it’s about Scorp I really don’t want to talk about it.”

 

“I know,” Harry sighed “Just let me be a dad for a moment.”

 

Albus looked up at his father and saw that he looked older than the last time he’d seen him. Maybe Albus forgot sometimes that his parents were growing old the same time he was growing up. There were a few grey hairs scattered in Harry’s hair now and Albus thought that it was probably because of the stress of his job. Working for the Ministry couldn’t have been the easiest thing in the world. 

 

“What are you afraid of?” Harry asked, carefully. Romance had never been his strong point in his parenting, but there was no doubt that he tried. 

 

“Losing him,” Albus replied automatically.

 

“And you won’t risk that even if it means the two of you will be happier?”

 

“We’re already happy.”

 

“You know what I mean,” Harry looked down at his son.

 

“I just don’t really know how to handle that,” Albus shrugged. “That stuff always came easy to James, but I’ve never been like that.”

 

“You and your brother are very different,” Harry said. “Your mum and I were very lucky to have three children that were all complete individuals from the start.”

 

“I bet you weren’t expecting one of them to be a Slytherin,” Albus muttered. He’d come to peace with being in Slytherin by now, but somehow being bitter about it was his reflex. As if it was some kind of defensive device when talking to his father.

 

“Al, you know we don’t care about what house you’re in. Just about whether you’re happy or not.”

 

“Well I am happy, so you don’t have to worry about me,” Albus crossed his arms over his chest and a part of him realised that he must have picked that up from Lily. 

 

“Your mother and I will always worry about you,” Harry replied.  _ That’s what parents do,  _ he thought.  “I know I’m not always good at being a dad, but I hope you know that I only want the best for you.”

 

Albus was struck by that. His father had always been good at being a dad. His father was the best dad he could have hoped for and more. How lowly did Harry think of himself? “I just don’t know how to ask someone out,” he admitted, “and don’t say I could have gone to James for that because all he does is smirk at me and give terrible advice.”

 

Harry smiled at that, “Of course he does.”

 

“Is there anything wrong with waiting?”

 

“Not at all.”

 

“Then maybe that’s what I’ll do,” Albus declared.

 

Harry smiled at his son. His children were all growing up so quickly and sometimes he thought that he wasn’t able to keep up with it all. Most of the time they were still children when he looked at them, and that was something he was going to have to adjust. “Just do what feels right for you,” he said.

 

“All that conversation for that advice. Not your best moment, dad,” he teased.

 

“I try,” Harry defended.

 

Albus hugged his father for a moment. He did miss his parents when he was at Hogwarts. And maybe as he got older he’d gotten worse at writing to them. He made a mental note to change that. “You succeed,” Albus reassured, pulling away.

 

***

  
  


Christmas Eve rolled around and Albus, James and Lily were watching as their mother rushed around double checking that all of the presents were wrapped and all the decorations were perfect. They knew they were and they thought that even she knew that, but this was something that happened every year. It was as much a tradition as putting up the tree. 

 

“Ginny,” Harry stopped his wife, grabbing her by the shoulders. “Everything is perfect,” he reassured her. 

 

“Can’t hurt to check,” she shrugged. 

 

Harry smiled at her and kissed her forehead. “You’re wonderful, you know that,” he muttered.

 

“Ew! James, mum and dad are being mushy again!” Lily called as she walked passed the kitchen on the way to the lounge room. 

 

“You’ll be mushy with someone too one day,” James smirked.

 

Lily rolled her eyes at him. “Better not be before Albus,” she said.

 

Albus groaned, leaning his head back against the lounge that he was sitting on. Even though they were in the next room Lily had a loud enough voice that it travelled. A blessing and a curse all at once. 

 

“Stop picking on your brother,” Harry chastised.

 

The doorbell rang and they all rushed to the door. On the other side were the beaming Granger-Weasleys. 

 

“Merry Christmas!” Hermione said, immediately hugging Harry and then Ginny.

 

“Merry Christmas,” Harry laughed, pulling Ron into a hug easily. 

 

Rose walked passed her parents, aunt and uncle and went to hug Albus. The two of them had kept up a steady stream of letters since they’d gotten back home. “You doing ok?” she asked him. Albus had written to her about how James and Lily kept teasing him about Scorpius and even though she knew it was just out of pure bewilderment for the two of them not being together yet, she did feel sorry for him, since she knew how much it upset him. And maybe that was why he was delaying as much as he had. Even though the teasing was all in good nature, maybe that’s not what it looked like to him.

 

“I’m doing ok,” he replied. “You?”

 

“You know how much I love Christmas,” Rose smiled at him, pulling away again, “Maybe I feel older but the Christmas spirit still continues. Just took longer for me to feel it this year.”

 

“I guess so,” he shrugged.

 

“You sure you’re ok?” she asked, concern etching itself onto her face.

 

“Just seemingly regretting some of my life choices,” he replied, not looking at her but down at the ground instead.

 

“You’ve got your whole life ahead of you, Al. You make your choices the way you want to make them,” she replied, smiling at her cousin. 

 

James appeared in the room, letting Hermione and Ron hug him before turning to Rose. “Rosey!” he called to her.

 

“Jamesy!” she beamed back at him, laughing. 

 

James pulled her into a hug. “How’s my favourite cousin going?” he asked. Even though he and Rose weren’t nearly as close and Rose and Albus were, they still had a pretty tight friendship. 

 

“I heard that!” Hugo called from the lounge room, where he’d disappeared with Lily.

 

“I’m doing great. What’s it like in the real world?” she asked James.

 

“A little strange but I’m working hard,” he replied, “kinda miss Hogwarts though.”

 

“I’m sure it misses you too,” she smirked.

 

“Oh please, McGonagall was thrilled to get rid of me,” he shrugged. “I bet she and the rest of the teachers threw some kind of party the second I graduated.”

 

“You didn’t make it easy for them, did you?” she laughed.

 

“I take after my mother’s side of the family,” he shrugged.

 

Rose looked over and saw Ginny roll her eyes at that. They’d heard all kinds of stories of what their Uncles Fred and George would get up to at Hogwarts. Rose wasn’t at all surprised that James had taken after them at all. Professor McGonagall must have cringed when she’d heard that he was named James Sirius. 

 

Ginny was about to usher them all further into the house when the doorbell rang again. Rose looked over at Albus, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. He shook his head at her, not quite managing to stop the smile that made its way onto its face. Ginny opened the door and greeted the Malfoys on the other side. Over the years, Draco had mellowed out and was completely comfortable accepting a hug from the red head. 

 

“I’m so glad you managed to write,” Rose smiled at Scorpius, pulling him into a hug as he stepped into the house. 

 

“You sound surprised,” he laughed, hugging her back easily.

 

“Thought you might be a little distracted,” she whispered, pulling away and winking at him.

 

Scorpius shook his head at her, smiling. “Nothing’s happened and you know that,” he replied quietly

.

She pouted at him. “Maybe it’s time for you step up,” she replied.

 

He shrugged. “I think it’s fine the way it is.”

 

“Keep telling yourself that,” she patted his shoulder absently. She stepped away so Albus could hug him because that’s usually what happened. The key word being usually because this time Albus hesitated. Rose walked away from them, standing next to James instead in order to give them a moment. 

 

“Hey,” Scorpius smiled at his best friend.

 

“Hey,” Albus replied. He hesitated for a moment more, maybe waiting for their parents to start making their way to the lounge room. It wasn’t like they’d never seen them hug before. 

 

“You ok?” Scorpius asked, concern lacing his tone.

 

“I’m fine,” Albus smiled.

 

Scorpius may have been a lot of things but stupid wasn’t one of them one. He  _ knew  _ Albus, and he could tell when he was lying. When everyone started moving further into the house Albus finally pulled him into a hug. He wondered why he’d waited but wasn’t going to question it. He also didn’t question when Albus buried his head into Scorpius’ shoulder for a moment. That was something he only did when he was upset, but he obviously wasn’t willing to talk about it.

 

“You see that?” Rose looked up at James, indicating the two of them as they pulled away from each other.

 

“I do believe I’ve had eyes my entire life, yes,” he replied smirking.

 

“We have to do something about it,” she replied, ignoring his snark.

 

“Ooh, a scheme,” he beamed at her. “What did you have in mind?”

 

Rose smirked as Albus and Scorpius made their way to join the rest of their families in the lounge room. “Ever heard of mistletoe?” she smirked at him.

 

“You’re a sly one, aren’t you?” he beamed.

 

She shrugged, pleased with herself. “It’s been way too long already and I don’t think they’re willing to do anything on their own.”

 

“I’ll pick some up before I head over to the The Burrow tomorrow,” James looked down at her before taking a few steps towards the lounge room as well. 

 

“Genius,” Rose beamed into the silence. 

 

***

 

Albus, Scorpius and Rose took their usual seat next to fireplace. The winter had been unusually cold this year and the warmth from the embers were helping more than they’d like to admit. James and Lily were teaching Hugo how to play a muggle board game that caught his eye. Albus was just grateful that it wasn’t Monopoly, he wasn’t really in the mood to clean up any dead bodies that night. Albus was looking over at his two friends, who were chatting happily about Christmas and the snow outside and how nice the holiday season was. He found himself at a lost for words, just happy to watch the two of them. 

 

“Al, are you sure you’re ok?” Scorpius asked, catching his eye. 

 

“Yeah, you haven’t really spoken at all since we got here,” Rose observed. There was a far-off look in her cousin’s eye, as if he wasn’t truly  _ there  _ with the two of them. 

 

“I’m ok,” Albus said. He wasn’t 100% sure if it was the truth or not, but it was the answer he needed to give.

 

“You know what, I don’t believe you,” Scorpius said, his eyes scanning his best friend’s face for something that would give him an indication of what was wrong.

 

“Did something happen?” Rose asked.  _ Something that you didn’t tell me in your letters,  _ she thought.

 

“I’m fine. I just missed you,” his eyes landed on Scorpius. “Both of you,” he added, looking over at Rose. Somehow that seemed to make the two of them more worried. 

 

“Albus, we all wrote to each other every day,” Rose reminded. 

 

“I know,” he replied.

 

Harry appeared from the dining room, stating that dinner was ready. Everyone was quick to stand and start moving into the next room. Scorpius pulled on Albus’ sleeve gently, forcing him to a stop. Rose looked behind her at the two of them but continued on, knowing they needed a moment.

 

“Talk to me,” Scorpius begged, his voice quiet.

 

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Albus replied easily. It’s not like he had the words anyway.  _ I love you _ , he thought,  _ and I’m terrified of it _ . 

 

Scorpius nodded, his eyes turning sad. He pulled lightly on Albus’ sleeve again so he would follow him to the next room. He sat down next to Rose, Albus on his other side and looked up at her, shaking his head slowly. Rose nodded, understanding completely. Something was wrong and Albus wouldn’t even tell  _ him _ what it was. If Scorpius couldn’t get through to him then there wasn’t much hope for her to either. 

 

***

 

Christmas seemed to be Harry Potter’s favourite time of the year, and not for obvious reasons. Yes, he loved having his children home more than anything and yes the holiday season on it’s own somehow felt, well, magical. But that wasn’t why he loved it so much. It was the one time of year where he soaked up the most compliments about his cooking. And he was more than proud of that.

 

Albus looked up at Lily when she nudged him slightly with her elbow. There was worry in her eyes that seemed reflective of that in his friend’s eyes as well. She looked at him questioningly for a moment, as if deciding how to best frame her words. “You’re not really eating,” she settled on. She’d seen Rose and Scorpius giving him worried glances since the two of them got here so she knew something was definitely wrong. Scorpius usually glanced at her brother often, but not with this much concern.

 

“I guess I’m not really hungry,” Albus replied, shrugging casually.

 

“You’re always hungry at Christmas. It’s when dad’s cooking is at its best and you know it,” she rebutted. 

 

“Maybe I’m not feeling the Christmas spirit this year?” he offered, hoping that she wouldn’t push anymore.

 

Lily paused for a moment, mulling over her words again. Albus wasn’t ever really one to talk about his feelings. That’s probably why it was taking so damn long for him and Scorpius to get together. At least, that had to be the reason because she saw the way they looked at each other and it was damn obvious that they wanted to be together. “You can talk to me, you know,” she decided on. 

 

Albus offered her a small smile in response. “I know, Lily,” he said, “I just don’t feel much like talking at the moment.”

 

“Let me know when you do,” she replied, nudging him again fondly. 

 

“Thanks Lily,” he muttered, turning back to pushing his food around on his plate. 

 

Lily nudged her other brother next. James huffed as she elbowed him but didn’t say anything, just turned to her. “Do you know what’s up with him?” she whispered, pointing her knife at Albus subtly. 

 

James shook his head. “You mean the lovesick puppy?” he asked. 

 

“Always comes back to that doesn’t it?” she smirked slightly.

 

“Heart and soul,” James muttered, rolling his eyes.

 

Lily laughed and looked over just as Scorpius was throwing Albus another glance. Those two were ridiculous, she decided. She wished that she could do something to help them realise that they felt the same way about each other. 

 

“I know what you’re thinking, sis,” James leaned towards her again, “and all I’m going to say is Rose and I have a scheme forming.”

 

“Oh, good,” she replied, “About bloody time.”

 

Scorpius nudged Albus gently to get his attention, resting his hand next to his for a brief second. “I know you’re more the quiet and brooding type but you don’t have to be this brooding during Christmas,” he smiled at him.

 

Albus managed to crack a smile at that. “You just know me so well, don’t you?” he joked.

 

“I’ve known you a long time, I guess,” he shrugged.

 

“I guess so,” Albus muttered.

 

“You know you can talk to me, right?” Scorpius asked, “whether in person or you could owl or even send me a howler if you like, however you want to get your point across.”

 

“A howler would be a little scary echoing around you house though, wouldn’t it?”

 

“Maybe, but that’s not my point,” he defended.

 

“I just need time to think about a lot of things right now,” Albus looked up at his best friend for a moment. “Is that ok?”

 

“Of course it is,” Scorpius paused. “You know I’m just worried about you.”

 

“I know.”

 

***

 

The more the night went on the more other members of Albus’ family seemed to catch the worrying bug. First it was Scorpius and Rose, then Lily and James and even Hugo started giving him side glances eventually. Once his parents seemed to realise that the rest of the kids were looking at him strangely they seemed to catch on too, and then his aunt and uncle. And finally Draco. Suddenly the whole room was worried about him and all he wanted to do was leave. Albus tried to ignore all the eyes on him, but he’d never been good at that. Not even at Hogwarts, though he’d been getting better. 

 

Every year everyone was allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve, and one present only. It was an old tradition that Albus thought originally came from muggles and not wizards. Either way he’d never really questioned it as a child, just happy to get a head start on the presents. Which, when you’re a child, was always the best part of Christmas. The present was picked at random from the pile under the tree, providing more of a lucky dip sort of situation. That way the receiver would have less of a chance knowing what it was, which would spoil the point. Since they handed out the present from youngest to oldest Hugo received his first. It was a small black box wrapped in red tissue paper, inside was a muggle deck of cards that James had enchanted to shuffle itself for him. Hugo was delighted at that and threw his arms around his cousin, he didn’t hug that much anymore and James was just happy that he liked it. Lily was next. Her present was rectangular and was wrapped in rainbow wrapping paper. Inside was an assortment of her favourite sweets from Weasley Wizard Wheezes. She hugged her uncle, beaming at him and thanking him profusely. Albus was next, being the youngest of the trio. He was almost regretting opening his. Not that he didn’t like presents, he just really wasn’t feeling up to it. 

 

“Open it,” Rose urged, partially because she wanted to open her own gift but more so because she wanted to see the smile on her cousin’s face when he saw whatever was inside of it. Because Christmas had its own special brand of magic and someone who didn’t smile while opening a present from a loved one didn’t exist. 

 

“Ok,” Albus muttered. His was the largest box so far, about the size of a shoe box. It was wrapped in shiny green paper, Slytherin green, and Albus wondered if that was supposed to indicate something. He wasn’t in the right mindset to make any kind of guesses. He unwrapped his gift slowly, not really sure why he was hesitating but slightly worried about what would be inside. He couldn’t remember what he’d even asked for this year, if anything. When Albus thought he saw bristles his heart started to race. He quickly ripped open the rest of the box and watched as a broomstick popped out. But not just any broomstick, the latest model. The fastest broomstick to ever be made. It wasn’t even scheduled to be realised until next year. Albus stared down at his gift with wide eyes. This broom had to be at least a few thousand gallons.  _ At least _ . This would have cost his parents so much money. And it was all for him, to use for quidditch once they were back from winter break, hence the green wrapping paper. Albus felt tears stinging his eyes. He was so incredibly touched.

 

“Al,” Scorpius muttered, reaching a hand out because he’d noticed the tears too and his worry just seemed to increase at that. 

 

“Please don’t touch me,” Albus muttered, not realising how much the words hurt his best friend. Albus stood up and made his way over to his parents, hugging his mother tightly first. “Thank you,” he whispered to her. He let go and hugged his father next. “Why did you spend so much money on me?” he muttered.

 

Rose looked over at Scorpius and saw the hurt in his eyes. She shifted closer to him, being careful not to touch Albus’ new broom. “You know he didn’t mean it like that,” she whispered to him.

 

“They’re just not words you want to hear from someone you care about,” he whispered back.

 

“He’s just a little overwhelmed. He’ll probably apologise later once he realises what he said,” she reassured him, placing a hand on his shoulder briefly. 

 

Scorpius nodded and looked down at the broom next to them, “It’s gorgeous isn’t it.”

 

“Well it brought the immovable Potter to tears,” Rose teased.

 

“He’s not really immovable,” Scorpius defended automatically.

 

“Oh I know. Albus is more than a little mushy when you get to know him,” she smirked, her eyes on the broom as well. She wasn’t even a little jealous, it would just make her work harder. She and Albus were as closely matched as could be when it came to quidditch, and she was excited to see if the new broom was going to change that.

 

“It’ll be an interesting season,” Scorpius replied, ignoring what she meant by that and bringing the conversation back to quidditch.

 

“Don’t worry,” she beamed at him, “I know that you’re just as mushy when you want to be.”

 

“Sometimes I wonder why I became friends with you,” Scorpius smirked. 

 

***

 

After everyone had opened one present they all had to part ways, knowing that they would see each other again the next day. Everyone was gathered in the entryway of the Potter house saying their goodbyes. Rose gave James a hug and whispered “don’t forget the mistletoe,” in his ear before turning to her friends. She hugged Scorpius first and then Albus, before quickly shifting to stand with her mother to give them a moment. 

 

Albus found himself hesitating again. The night had been a rollercoaster of emotions for him and he wasn’t entirely sure if he was able to keep up. “Scorpius, I-” he muttered.  _ I love you _ , he thought again. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he managed before hugging his best friend, burying his head in his shoulder again for just the briefest second before anyone could notice.

 

“Technically you’ll see me later today,” Scorpius beamed at him, pulling away and glancing up at a clock on the wall. There was still worry in his eyes but Albus noticed that he was trying to hide it.

 

“Make sure you manage to get some sleep sometime between now and then,” Albus smirked.

 

“And the same for you.”

 

The second everyone had apparated back to their own homes Ginny started ushering her children off to bed. All of them were too tired to protest and followed her orders immediately. Harry and Ginny looked at their slightly messed up kitchen and decided that was something that could definitely wait. As incredible as Christmas could be, it could be just as tiring, and it wasn’t over yet. 

 

***

 

Albus woke up to the sound of his little sister yelling excitedly about presents and groaned to himself. Sometimes he had to remind himself that even though she was fourteen now she was still really just a child. He just wished that he’d been reminded in a way that was quieter. Albus looked at the clock on his bed side table absently. It was almost 9am which was probably a decent enough time to get up but still he just wanted to sleep for a really long time. Albus’ door crashed open and he looked up at his brother accusingly.

 

“You know, if you don’t get up she’ll just scream louder and I’d rather you save us both from that,” James stated. Albus could tell that he’d just woken up in the same way he had. His hair was even messier than usual and his eyes were still hooded. Apparently he was still half asleep. Albus couldn’t blame him for that.

 

“It’s good thing our parents passed down such devotion to each other then,” Albus muttered, yawning and sitting up in his bed. He rubbed at his eyes absently, wishing that he was more awake than he felt. It was probably going to be a long day. A part of him wished that he didn’t think of Christmas like that. Maybe he was just growing up. 

 

“Don’t make me come over there and drag you out of bed, Al,” James replied, taking a step closer to him to prove he was serious.

 

“I’m getting there. Just give me a minute,” he replied.

 

James sighed quietly. He closed the door and went to sit next to his brother. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

 

“Talk about what?” Albus replied, rubbing at his eyes again.

 

“Whatever’s bothering you.”

 

“Nothing’s bothering me, James.”

 

“Al, it’s Christmas and you’re not even smiling. Don’t lie to me,” James nudged him gently.

 

Albus looked over at his brother. Maybe this  _ was _ something that he needed to talk about but he was more than used to bottling up his feelings for a while until Scorpius coaxed them out of him. But this was something that he couldn’t tell his best friend so maybe his brother would be a better candidate. Albus thought over his words carefully, probably taking a little longer than he should have.

 

“If it helps,” James said, “I know that it’s about Scorpius.”

 

_ Of course it’s about Scorpius _ , he thought. Maybe Albus was the least observant Potter sibling. Or maybe he was just an open book. “I don’t know if you know what it’s like to be in love with your best friend,” Albus muttered, “but it kind of sucks.”

 

James laughed at that, ruffling his little brother’s hair fondly because he knew he hated that, “You’re a bloody idiot, you know that?”

 

“Thanks.”

“What I’m saying is you’re up here all the time,” James tapped Albus’ head gently. “You need to come back down to earth for a bit because it’s not as hard as you think it is.”

 

“So I should just tell him how I feel?” Albus looked up at his brother accusingly. 

 

“Well, yeah. What are you waiting for?”

 

“I”m scared,” Albus replied automatically. He cursed himself when he realised that he said it because he knew that James would think that was stupid. James Potter was more one to laugh in the face of fear than shy away from it, but Albus had never been like his brother in that sense.

 

“What about?” James asked, worry overcoming his features.

 

“That he doesn’t feel the same way,” Albus shrugged. 

 

James bit down on his lip and Albus could tell that he was trying to stop himself from laughing. He gained his composure quickly and smiled down at Albus. “Well I can tell you that you don’t have to be afraid of that,” he said, standing up and walking back towards the door. “Now come on, not only are you holding up presents but you’re also holding up me. I’ve got some errands to run before we head over to The Burrow.”

 

“Errands?” Albus questioned, pulling the covers off himself and standing. He wasn’t expecting the cold and shivered for a moment before grabbing a robe. 

 

“Yeah, mum wants me to pick up some more food. You know how she always needs to bring more than necessary,” James shrugged casually.

 

Albus got the sense that he was hiding something but decided not to question it. Maybe a part of him was excited for presents after all. 

 

***

 

The Burrow hadn’t changed in all the years that Albus had visited. It was just as magical and just as warm and just as filled with love year after year. There always seemed to be light radiating from the walls themselves and even though Albus knew that his mother and uncle had grown up in a poor family The Burrow made him question what that really meant. And he was more than fond of the place. James apparated to them just before Ginny knocked on the door. Albus turned around at the sound and saw James stuffing something into the coat that he was wearing. He was definitely hiding something.

 

“So where’s all that food you were intent on getting?” Albus asked as his mother knocked on the front door of The Burrow. 

 

“Ok so I lied,” James smirked, “it wasn’t food I was buying.”

 

Albus looked him over for a moment, trying to figure him out. He heard the door open and turned to see his grandmother hug both his parents.

 

“What were you buying then?” Albus asked, turning back to James.

 

James reached a hand into his coat. He’d enchanted his pockets to be bigger on the inside (mostly so he could sneak firewhisky everywhere but that was beside the point) so he wiggled his hand around for a moment, trying to grasp whatever he was looking for. When his hand emerged again he was holding a few santa hats.

 

“You didn’t,” Albus muttered with an expression of pure horror.

 

James just beamed at him in response.

 

“Kill me,” he muttered under his breath. Albus turned and accepted the hug from his grandmother warmly. Christmas was one of the few times a year that he saw her but Molly Weasley never seemed to changed all that much. She seemed to have endless optimism and he wondered briefly if that’s where Rose got hers. 

 

“Hey grandma,” he smiled at her as she pulled away.

 

“Look at you, all grown up,” she replied and ruffled his hair. 

 

“Guess so,” Albus replied, moving a hand through his hair to fix it immediately.

 

“Oh, sorry Albus. I know you don’t like that,” she apologised. 

 

“It’s ok,” he smiled.

 

Molly moved on to hug James next and Albus made his way inside. He gave his grandfather a hug and listened to a story about something muggle related that he couldn’t quite catch. All these years and Arthur Weasley was still obsessed with all things muggle. That’s why Ginny insisted on hiding a rubber duck somewhere in The Burrow every year and seeing how long it would take for it be noticed. It was some tradition that Albus didn’t quite understand but made him parents incredibly happy. All Albus’ uncles were there already and he greeted them all, holding a conversation for a few moments with each other be polite - except for when his Uncle Charlie started telling him about the dragons he’d been working with in Romania because always found that incredibly fascinating - before moving further into the house. He greeted his Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron before searching for Rose. It didn’t take him long because she was still hovering near the doorway. He saw her hug James and laugh with him for a moment.

 

“Did you bring it?” Rose said to James quietly, pulling him into a hug to seem inconspicuous.

 

“Would I let you down?” James pulled away, tapping his coat pocket as he did so. 

 

“Debatable,” she shrugged, a smirk on her face, “I’m excited, aren’t you.”

 

“Schemes are my favourite,” he replied.

 

“Must be why you miss Hogwarts so much,” she laughed.

 

“Your favourite cousin is waiting,” James laughed with her, his eyes flicking to Albus for a moment. 

 

“Good,” she replied, “I’ll see you later then.”

 

“You bet!”

 

Rose turned and walked over to Albus, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly. He still looked as sad and uncomfortable as the day before and she wondered for a moment if her and James’ scheme would help with that. She hoped that it wouldn’t make it worse. Obviously Albus and Scorpius just needed a little push. Since the three of them had been sending letters so frequently she was lucky enough to get both sides of the story. She knew how much they wanted to be with each other. Of course she did. She had eyes. “Al, it’s Christmas,” Rose beamed at him, pulling away but leaving her hands resting on his shoulders, “at least smile a little.”

 

Albus looked at his beaming cousin. He knew how much Rose loved Christmas. It was definitely something that she’d gotten from the Weasley side of the family. He smiled at her faintly because she just looked so happy and so was everything around him and maybe he just needed to pull himself together. Just for the rest of the day at least. There was another knock on the door and Albus’ smile fell immediately. 

 

“He’s your best friend, Al,” Rose said to him, “don’t look so panicked.”

 

“You’re right,” he muttered. There weren’t many experiences were Rose wasn’t right but Albus was just a little too unwilling to listen to her this time. “I’ll try my best,” he muttered. He could see Scorpius beaming at the two of them and felt his heart speed up in response. 

 

“Merry Christmas!” Scorpius laughed, smiling as Rose gave him a hug and looking like a literal ray of sunshine. 

 

Albus wasn’t sure that he knew many things but he at least knew one. Scorpius was the most beautiful person that he had ever seen and ever would see. Also, that he was fucked. 

 

“You look quite dashing today,” Rose laughed, pulling away from her friend.

 

“Doesn’t he always,” Albus muttered.

 

“If that was some kind of Christmas pun, Rose. I swear,” he laughed.

 

“I’m a little surprised you made that connection at all,” Albus said to the two of them. His eyes flicking between them and a smile making its way onto his face.

 

“Is Albus ‘The Moody’ Potter actually smiling?” Rose mocked. She turned back to Scorpius, “Do you see that?”

 

“I do see it,” Scorpius laughed.  _ And it’s stunning _ , he thought. 

 

“All I’m saying is that the names of Santa’s reindeer are a muggle thing,” Albus shrugged casually.

 

“Santa himself is a muggle thing,” Rose replied, “Kinda funny that. It’s like they want some kind of magic in their lives even though they don’t have any themselves.”

 

“That is a different way of looking at it,” Scorpius mused.

 

“So am I getting a hug or not?” Albus asked before he could stop himself. It came out in a rush and he almost regretted it but his friends didn’t seem to mind. It’s just that Scorpius was right there and he was stunning as ever and Albus needed him so much closer that he was now. 

 

“So needy today,” Scorpius laughed, pulling his best friend into a hug. Maybe he’d needed it too, but maybe he was just waiting for Albus to be ready for it. Albus had been shying away from him lately and he didn’t want to find himself overstepping. 

 

“Hey,” Albus replied, burying his head in Scorpius’ shoulder for a second. He desperately wanted Scorpius to never let go but knew he would let him when he did anyway.

 

“Hey.”

 

Rose looked over her shoulder at James, a smirk on her face. She indicated her two friends and James winked at her, a matching smirk on his face. He tapped the pocket in his coat, beaming at her. Rose turned back to the two of them as they pulled away from each other, biting down on her lip so she didn’t laugh and startle them. 

 

***

 

The first presents that were opened in The Burrow were the Weasley sweaters. They were opened before dinner so that everyone could wear them, while the rest of the presents were opened after dinner. Molly Weasley still took pride in every sweater that she made, even though the number of them had only increased over the years. She even made one for each Malfoy every year, since they had become such a constant part of the family. 

 

This year Albus’ sweater was Slytherin green. His grandmother had mentioned something about it matching his new broom and he was incredibly touched. He used to think that his family would hate him for being sorted into Slytherin, but he should have known that would never be the case. His family loved him. They proved it every day. Rose’s sweater was purple, because that was a colour of royalty and she smiled and hugged her grandma in gratitude. Scorpius’ was yellow, almost gold and Albus thought that it was incredibly cruel because it sort of matched his hair and helped bring out his eyes and it really didn’t help the whole sunshine aspect. The fact that he was beaming down at it didn’t really help either. 

 

“What do you think?” Scorpius smiled, looking up at Albus.

 

“Suits you,” Albus replied easily.  _ You’re beautiful,  _ he thought.

 

“Rose?” Scorpius looked at her.

 

“Looks great!” she beamed back.

 

“Yours too.”

 

“I think I’ve grown kinda fond of the Weasley sweaters over the years,” Albus said. His parents kept every single one. The ones they’d been given themselves and the ones their children had been given. Basically, if there was ever some kind of snowstorm and people needed sweaters they would be set. 

 

“They kind of feel like … home,” Rose agreed. 

 

“I still can’t believe I get one every year,” Scorpius said.

 

Two pairs of eyes turned to look at him. “Scorp, you’re a part of the family,” Rose replied. “You have been since you met this one on the Hogwarts Express,” she laughed, nudging Albus fondly. 

 

Scorpius laughed, smiling at the two of them, “It certainly feels that way.”

 

***

 

Eventually Rose left her two friends and went off in search of James. She probably should have been keeping an eye on him because she found herself wondering the house without much luck. She asked her mother if she’d seen him but she shook her head, said something about maybe he disappeared outside or had to leave early. It took her a while but she found him upstairs gazing down at his family. 

 

“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said when he saw her.

 

“Sorry,” she apologised, “was having a little too much fun.”

 

“Well, I can’t blame you for that,” he replied, reaching a hand into his coat pocket and pulling out a sprig of mistletoe. 

 

“So what’s the plan?” Rose asked.

 

James paused, confused. “The plan?”

 

“Yeah, you know. How do we get that over there?” she pointed to where Albus and Scorpius were. They were leaning against a wall and laughing. 

 

“You mean, you don’t know how you’re approaching this?” James muttered.

 

“And you don’t either?” Rose asked.

 

They stopped in their tracks, looking over at each other. It was one thing to hatch a scheme and it was another to plan one. And they’d both been caught up in the concept that they’d forgotten to plan. 

 

“We’re idiots,” James sighed. 

 

“There you two are!” Lily bounced up the them. “Ooh, is that the mistletoe? Can I see?” she asked, taking a few steps towards James.

 

“Hey, careful. You don’t know how hard it was to find this thing.”

 

Rose laughed. “It’s a sprig of mistletoe, not a rare potion ingredient, James relax,” she said, “And plus, it’s Christmas so that stuff will be everywhere.”

 

“So what are you guys going to do with it?” Lily asked, taking a few more steps towards them. James held the mistletoe out to her so she could have a look at it. She took it and gently held it in her palm.

 

“Well we’re trying to figure that out now,” James muttered, sheepishly. He ran a hand through his hair absently, nervous because they hadn’t planned anything at all and he was feeling incredibly stupid in that moment. The result was that it turned out to be even messier than it already was, which was a feat within itself. 

 

“So you have to get them under it?” Lily asked, looking over the plant in her hand.

 

“Yes,” Rose confirmed.    
  


“Oh that’s easy,” Lily beamed up at them. “Just levitate it.”

 

“Levitate it?”

 

“Oh, of course,” Rose smiled down at her youngest cousin. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and remembered the distinct swish and flick that she’d been taught in first year. “Wingardium Leviosa,” she said, watching as the sprig of mistletoe lifted itself from Lily’s hand.

 

“Do you think that could work?” James asked, as Rose let the mistletoe fall back onto Lily’s palm.. 

 

“It’s either this or you get a stick and a long piece of string,” Lily shrugged.

 

“Magic works,” James shrugged. 

 

“Surely a first year spell can be sustained for that long,” Rose replied.

 

“You’re welcome,” Lily smirked at them. 

 

“Thank you, Lily,” she added, “We didn’t really think this through as much as we thought we did.”

 

“I think you should do it,” James said, looking over at Rose.

 

“Me?”

 

“You’re the strongest out of all of us.”

 

“You’re older,” Rose replied.

 

“It was your idea.”

 

“And they’re your friends,” Lily added.

 

Rose sighed, looking down at the sprig of mistletoe for a moment and then down at Albus and Scorpius. They were right. This was her idea and she was the one that had to do it. She was the one that had been trying to get them together for years. And she was the one who’d endured letter upon letter upon letter from the both of them talking mostly about each other. And their endless pining. Rose took a deep breath and held her wand ready. She just hoped that she could pull this off. 

 

“Ready?” James asked. 

 

“You can do it,” Lily beamed at her.

 

She smiled at the two of them. 

 

“Just be careful that it’s not too obvious,” James reminded.

 

“So I have to make a plant fly but not make it obvious?” she laughed. “Sure, James.”

 

“You know what I mean,” he defended. 

 

Rose smirked at him before looking back down at the sprig, still resting is Lily’s hand. “Wingardium Leviosa,” she said. The three of them watched as the mistletoe started to rise from Lily’s hand easily. Rose kept her wand steady and turned carefully, the mistletoe followed her wand’s movement. 

 

“It’s working!” Lily smiled, watching as the mistletoe made it over the banister of the staircase.

 

“I can’t believe it’s actually working,” James echoed.

 

Rose tried her best to make the mistletoe head towards the wall so that it would be directly above Albus and Scorpius. She didn’t want to draw too much attention to it and was hoping that no one would really notice it, since they all seemed to be too busy catching up with everyone. Christmas was the one time of the year where the entirety of her family (plus Draco and Scorpius) came together so for some of her extended family it was the only time they saw each other. She was counting on that to keep everyone else busy. 

 

“Almost there!” Lily said, her smile growing. 

 

“Careful with your wand, Rose,” James reminded.

 

“You know I’m always careful,” Rose smirked. The mistletoe was getting closer and closer. 

 

“So how are we going to get them to see it?” Lily asked, “If it’s above them they’d have to look up.”

 

“Another thing we didn’t think about,” James muttered. “Rose, careful you’re making it fly too far away from the wall,” he said. James reached out and took hold of Rose’s wand, trying to straighten it carefully but the second he did the spell was suddenly void. The three of them watched as the mistletoe dropped from its position in the air … right onto Scorpius’ head. “Shit.”

 

“Everyone hit the deck,” Rose said. 

 

The three of them dropped to the ground, peaking out through the gaps in the railing in front of them. They watched as Scorpius froze up completely, obviously having felt the mistletoe fall onto him. 

 

“Abort mission,” Lily whispered. 

 

“I’m an idiot,” Rose replied.

 

“No it’s my fault,” James muttered. “I was the one that tried to move your wand.”

 

“Maybe it’s no one’s fault,” Lily said. 

 

“Yeah, we’ll go with that.”

 

“Ah, Al,” Scorpius muttered, freezing up. “Did something just land on my head?” he asked. 

 

“I think so,” Albus replied. 

 

“It’s not a spider or anything, is it?”

 

Albus bounced up on his toes. Scorpius was still taller than him and so he couldn’t see the top of the other boy’s head. “No. It look like a plant.”

 

Scorpius let out a sigh of relief. “Good,” he muttered, reaching up to grab the plant off his head absently. “What kind a plant would be growing inside anyway?” he asked.

 

“I don’t know. I didn’t know there was anything growing,” he shrugged. 

 

Scorpius lay the sprig of the plant in the palm of his hand and looked down at it. “You know I don’t think I’ve seen this plant before,” he replied. 

 

“Let’s see.” Albus stiffened when he realised what it was. His grandmother had probably put it up with the decorations at some point. She probably had them all over the house or something and they’d just happened to stand under one. Shit. “It’s mistletoe,” he said, trying not to sound as uncomfortable as he felt.

 

“Mistletoe?” Scorpius asked, turning to look at his best friend.

 

“Yeah, it’s a Christmas plant.”

 

“Well that explain it then,” Scorpius smiled at him. “It’s does look Christmasy now that I think about it,” he looked down at the mistletoe again.

 

“There’s a muggle tradition associated with it,” Albus cleared his throat, avoiding Scorpius’ eyes.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah, if two people stand under it together they have to,” Albus hesitated, looked up at Scorpius’ eager eyes again. “Kiss,” he finished.

 

Scorpius started laughing but stopped when Albus didn’t join in. “Wait, you’re serious?”

 

Albus nodded, avoiding his eyes again. 

 

“And since it fell on me, we were obviously standing under it somehow,” Scorpius muttered. “So, we have to kiss?”

 

“Guess so,” Albus shrugged, still not looking at him.

 

“You don’t sound happy about that,” he observed, his face falling, “Is kissing me really the worst thing that could happen to you tonight?”

 

“Why would you think that?” The truth was that Albus didn’t know how to feel about the situation. Maybe he did want to kiss Scorpius, but that shouldn’t be prompted by some kind of silly Christmas tradition. Or maybe it shouldn’t have been prompted at all. Yes, he loved Scorpius but he would rather not risk everything they already had. 

 

“Well, you’re acting like someone just told you that you had to eat a puking pasty or something.”

 

“It’s a bit weird isn’t it?” Albus defended. “You and me kissing?”

 

_ He doesn’t like me that _ , Scorpius realised suddenly. His heart stuttered, and not in a good way. How could he fix this? “What if there’s a curse on the tradition and we have to?”

 

“Scorp, it’s a muggle tradition,” he reminded, “There wouldn’t be a curse.”  _ He’s trying so hard. Maybe he does like me _ .

 

“Albus, look at me,” Scorpius prompted.  _ I’m trying to tell you something important. I love you _ . 

 

Albus looked up at his best friend. He thought maybe he saw something in his eyes but that just had to be wishful thinking. Scorpius was his best friend. They were nothing more than that. 

 

Scorpius made a decision and had to act before he changed his mind. He surged forward, holding Albus’ face in his hands gently and pressing his lips against his.

 

“They’re doing it!” Lily announced from the top of the staircase in a quiet voice. “They’re really doing it.” 

 

“You owe me two gallons, Potter,” Rose looked over at James, watching as he reached for his wallet. 

 

The first thing Scorpius noticed was that Albus’ whole being froze the second their lips made contact. The second was that Albus didn’t kiss him back.  _ He doesn’t have feelings for me _ , he realised.  _ I’m an idiot _ . Scorpius pulled back and looked at his best friend. Albus looked so upset that Scorpius was immediately regretful. He cursed at himself internally. He was an idiot. He should have just flicked the mistletoe off his head and ignored it. And yet here they were. “I overstepped,” he apologise. “Albus, I -” but he wasn’t able to finish his sentence. Albus dashed away from him, heading down a hallway to what he assumed would be an empty room somewhere.

 

“Wait, why is Albus leaving?’ Lily asked, her eyes on the scene as Albus bolted away from Scorpius.

 

“Oh shit,” Rose muttered. “You can keep the gallons for now,” she said to James before making her way down the staircase quickly. She rushed over to Scorpius who looked nothing less than heartbroken. “Scorp, I’m so sorry,” she apologised quickly, “It was all my idea. James and I thought it would be funny to see how you two would react.”

 

Scorpius looked up at her and smiled sadly. “It’s not really your fault, Rose,” he said, “I shouldn’t have kissed him.”

 

“We just thought that you two needed a push.”

 

Scorpius handed her the mistletoe, staring down at it in her hand. “Maybe you can use this to help someone else out,” he said, “Al doesn’t have those kind of feelings for me.”

 

“Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy,” Rose replied, seeing shock come over his features at the sudden anger in her tone. “I have not spent the last week. You know, not even the last week. I have not spent the last few years of my life getting letter after letter from my cousin complaining about how strong his feelings are for his best friend. You are going to march into that room and you are going to tell that boy how you feel.”

 

“He told you that?” Scorpius asked. Rose saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

 

“The letters are all at my house. If you’d like to read them I’ll drop them off next time I’m in the neighbourhood,” she said.

 

“I have to tell him how I feel,” he whispered. 

 

“Yes, you do. What are you waiting for?” Rose gave him a little shove in the direction that Albus had disappeared. “Go.”

 

“You’re right,” Scorpius said, then made his way down the hallway after Albus. 

 

Rose looked down at the mistletoe in her hands, satisfied with the outcome. “I’m always right,” she said to herself. 

 

“What happened?” Lily asked, popping up beside her. 

 

“Everything’s going to be fine,” she reassured. 

 

“Oh good,” Lily beamed at her.

 

“I’ll be taking those gallons now,” Rose turned to James.

 

“I was hoping you’d forget,” he replied.

***

 

Scorpius made his way down the corridor. Since he’d only been to The Burrow a few times it wasn’t very familiar to him and he was grateful when he noticed Albus standing in the only room with an open door. He entered the room and closed the door behind him, hoping that would someone help Albus feel comfortable enough to talk to him. He’d been trying to shut him out for weeks and if this was the reason then he needed to know how he could help. 

 

“Al?” he said, trying to prompt his best friend’s attention. The room was small and had bookcases lining every wall. It seemed to be some kind of haphazard study. 

 

Albus was leaning against a desk almost absently, he looked up when he heard his name. He wasn’t all that surprised to see Scorpius, of course he would come looking for him. He wasn’t even all that surprised when his heart wanted to leap out towards his best friend. 

 

“I think we should talk about this,” Scorpius muttered, trying to be careful with his words. 

 

“I love you,” Albus replied. “There, I said it.”

 

Scorpius paused, the words sinking into his brain slowly. Albus loved him.  _ Him _ . He was trying to think of the right response when Albus started talking again.

 

“And I’m terrified,” he started, “Of losing you, mostly. You’re my best friend Scorpius. You’ve been my best friend since my first day at Hogwarts. I couldn’t lose that over some stupid feelings. I couldn’t lose you like that.” 

 

Scorpius took a few steps towards him, trying to formulate something to say but not really succeeding. 

 

“And I know it’s stupid, to feel this way about you but it’s not like I can really control it. I mean, have you seen yourself? You’re stunning, and you’re incredible and you’re smart and kind and you’re all the things that people look for all wrapped into one person and I know I could never expect to be more than friends with you and maybe I shouldn’t have told you about how I feel but I think Rose would have killed me if I didn’t. You know how I am about admitting feelings. I’m awfully shit at that. And I know that I could never deserve you but now that I’ve told you I guess things can go back to normal again I can just pretend -”

 

“Al,” Scorpius muttered.

 

“I could just pretend that I don’t feel this way,” Albus finished. He looked up at his best friend. For some reason Scorpius wasn’t reacting to this the way he’d expected him to. Not that he even knew what he expected but somehow it wasn’t this. Because Scorpius was just looking at him with those eyes of his and Albus could feel his heart become non-existent. 

 

“I love you too,” Scorpius said. He grabbed Albus by the shoulders as if that would somehow make him believe what he was saying. He watched the realisation dawn on his best friend’s face, first confusion and then shock and then understanding. 

 

“What?”

 

“I think I’ve loved you since the first day we met,” Scorpius smiled, “At least somehow.”

 

“We were eleven,” Albus muttered, completely bewildered. He didn’t say that he felt the same but maybe Scorpius could tell. 

 

“It’s always been you, Albus Potter.”

 

Albus was struck by that. His brain was spinning through thoughts too quickly that he could barely make sense of what was in front of him. “This can’t be real,” he settled on.

 

“It’s real,” he replied quickly. “Why do you think I turned down that Ravenclaw girl earlier this year? My heart belonged to someone else.”

 

Albus didn’t know what to say to that. He didn’t know how to find the words to tell Scorpius that he felt the same way. He didn’t know if he’d ever been able to. Scorpius had always been better with words than he was. Better with feelings too. And yet here they were. Albus tried to think of words. Just any words, something that he could say that would make some kind of sense because Scorpius was beaming down at him and he could barely breathe. Suddenly he realised that he needed Scorpius so much closer. He was right in front of him and yet that somehow wasn’t close enough. “I’m gonna kiss you now,” Albus whispered, enjoying the way that his best friend’s eyes lit up at that. 

 

Scorpius laughed as Albus pulled on the front of his sweater so they were level enough that he could kiss him easily. He wrapped his arms around Albus’ waist and pulled him closer still. Albus responded by wrapping his arms around Scorpius’ neck, a hand sliding easily into his hair.  _ This is perfect _ , Scorpius thought. The two were so wrapped up in each other that they didn’t notice the door opening. 

 

“Aha! Yes!” an excited Rose Granger-Weasley cheered from the doorway. “James!” she called back down the hallway. “James! It worked! We did it! They’re going at it!”

 

“Rose!” they both accused, pulling away from each other just slightly.

 

“You don’t know how long,” she said, leaning against the door frame, “that I have had to wait for you two idiots to do that. The letters I’ve had to endure. The heart eyes I’ve had to witness. All leading up to this very moment.”

 

“I’m so sorry that your struggle was so profound,” Albus teased. 

 

“Apology accepted. Now if you’ll excuse me, I do love you both dearly but Albus you’re still my cousin and this is something I can live without seeing for the moment. Plus, I just gained a whole load of cash in bet money so thank you guys for that,” and with that she closed the door and disappeared again. 

 

The two boys looked at each other, slightly confused. 

 

“Bet money?” Albus asked finally.

 

“Who knows what she’s been up to,” Scorpius shrugged.

 

“She has a whole double life that we have no indication of,” Albus smirked.

 

Scorpius laughed and shook his head. “Idiot,” he muttered, leaning in for another kiss.

 

“Dork,” Albus replied, closing the gap between them once again.

 

***

 

While everyone was seated and happily eating Christmas dinner, James seemed to remember the santa hats that he’d brought. He tried to coax everyone in wearing one, just for the hilarity of it all (and because he had another bet going with Rose and  _ refused  _ to lose this time). He managed to convince Scorpius but Albus seemed determined to refuse. Scorpius managed to convince him by kissing his cheek and whispering in his ear that he thought it would look cute. Albus rolled his eyes and gave in. But only for Scorpius’ sake. Rose huffed and handed James a gallon, though she’d won enough bet money there was still no honor in losing to James. Albus and Scorpius’ little moment did not go unnoticed by the adults at the table. 

 

“Finally,” Harry and Draco said at the same time, watching their children smile at each other as Scorpius obviously took Albus’ hand under the table.

 

Ginny leaned over to her husband and friend, beaming. “So when should be start planning the wedding?” she asked.

 

**Author's Note:**

> And in that moment, we were all Ginny Weasley.  
> This fic can be alternatively title "An Ode to all the Friendships we were Robbed of in the CC", which is why there's so much love between literally everyone. Also, brooding Albus and actual ray of sunshine Scorpius gives me such life. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this. Thanks so much for reading!


End file.
